Dispensing containers for collapsible tubes



Aug. 2, 1966 J. P. TAZZEO 3,263,862

DISPENSING CONTAINERS FORS COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Filed March 15, 1965INVENTOR Jams 1? THZZEO flattening action,

" penser of this kind in which the broken away to show States Patient3,263,862 DISPENSING CONTAINERS FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES JameslhillipTazze'o, 351, E. 36th St., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Filed Mar. 15,1965, Ser. No. 439,815 6 Claiins. (Cl. 222-101) My. invention relates toimprovements in dispensing containers for collapsible tubes oftoothpaste and other sired because the roller has a tendency to jam onthe tube and does not flatten it with desirable facility. According tothe teachihgof the prior art it has been proposed to improve theexpelling action by employing an interposed apron of thin flexiblematerial such as spring steel. While the use of a resilient apron bringsabout a more desirable I its shortcoming is that the collapsible tubecannot be inserted and removed with desired facility.

Hence; it is an object of my invention to provide a dis pensitigcontainer of this kind in which a tube of paste can be inserted with anoptimum of ease and removed when flattened with equal facility.

it is a further object of the invention to provide a disflexible plateis canted away from the flattened tube as the roller is caused to recedeto its f 'll'y retracted position at the rear of the cohtainer.

Still another object of 'my invention is to provide a simple andeffective fulcrum whereby the flexible plate is canted, and in which atransverse crimp therein serves as the fulcruming agent.

A still ftirthei aim of the invention is to provide an inexpensive andserviceable dispensing container of the kind described.

A selected embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing; in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispensing container constructed inaccordance with the invention, parts being the interior structure moreclearly;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of the dispensingcontainer showing how the roller acts on the flexible plate to flattenthe tube;

FIG. 3 is a similar view to FIG. 2 but shows the tube entirely flattenedand the roller fully retracted to cant the flexible plate, the forwardposition of the roller being indicated in phantom lines; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional detail of the front end of the container showing ahinged lid in open position.

The container, generally indicated at 8, may be constructed of anysuitable material, such as metal or plastic for instance. It comprises abottom wall 10, a top wall 12 and side walls 14.

The container is rectangular in cross section and has an open front end16 for introducing a tube of paste 18. The front end is closed by a lid20 hinged at 22 and supplied with a suitable latch 24. The lid isapertured at 26 to expose the neck portion of the collapsible tube. Thecon ice tainer may be hung on a wall as by bracketing means indihowever.form a part of the invention.

The roller is indicated at 30 and this is transversely at ranged forreciprocal movement in the passage formed by the interior of thechamber. The roller has stub shafts 32 which extend through elongatedslots 34 provided in the side walls 14. Manually operable means areprovidedfor advancing the roller and retracting it.

The manually operable means is shown, by way of example but not oflimitation, as comprising knurled knobs 36 secured on the stub shafts 32and co-acting with rack-and-gcar means 38. There is a rack 40 on eachside wall 14 and a meshing spur gear 42 engaged therewith and made fastwith the respective stub shaft.

The flexible plate is denoted at 4 1 and is a thin, flat spring-steelmember which forms an apron that intervenes the collapsible tube 18 andthe roller 30. The roller rides over the flexible plate and inconsequence there is brought about a more desirable flattehing action.The rear end 46 of the flexible plate is secured as by rivets 48 to thetop wall 12 of the container and is curved backwardly on an arc of acircle substantially conforming to the diameter of the roller.

In the relaxed condition of the flexible plate the rear portion 50extends parallel to the bottom wall 10 of the container to a fulcrumelement 52, thence it is sloped upwardly as at 54 to a free forward end56.

The fulcrum 52 comprises a V-shaped crimp formed in the flexible plate.The V-shaped crimp is inverted and has its apex seated on the wall 10.Desirably the rear leg 58 of the crimp is slightly longer than the frontleg 60 which induces a more desirable canting action on the part of theflexible spring as the roller is withdrawn to a fully retracted positionas shown in FIG. 3. This canting action causes the flexible plate toassume a position clear of the tube and thereby facilitates the removalof a flattened tube and the insertion of a new tube.

From the preceding description it 'will be manifest that my inventionprovides a more eflicient and serviceable dispensing container forcollapsible tubes, and one which is inexpensive to manufacture.

Having disclosed a selected form of my invention it will be manifestthat incidental changes and variations may be resorted to as clearlycome within the scope of the. appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A dispensing container for a collapsible tube, said containerenclosing said tube and having opposite walls between which said tubefreely extends, one of said walls being a bottom wall against which saidtube is flattened and the other said wall being a passage-defining wallfor a roller which is guidably sustained for movement through saidpassage to fiattcn said tube and is supplied with manually operablemeans; said containcr comprising a thin flexible spring-metal plateextending through said passage and under said roller for moreeffectively transmitting the flattening action of said roller to thetube, said plate having a free forward end and a rear end secured tosaid passagedefining wall, said plate having a transverse fulcrumadjacent its rear end beyond the bottom end of said tube whereby reversemovement of the roller beyond said fulcrum induces upward flexing of theportion of the plate beyond 3 said fulcrum to facilitate removal of theflattened tube and insertiun of a new tube.

2. The structure of claim 1, said plate curved backwardly at its rearend on an arc of a circle substantially conforming to the diameter ofsaid roller.

3. The structure of claim I, wherein said plate is riveted to saidpassage-defining wall at its rear end.

4. The structure of claim 1, wherein said transverse fulcrum comprisesan element projecting downwardly therefrom and contacting said bottomwall.

5. The structure of claim 4, wherein said element consists of asubstantially V-shaped crimp in said plate.

6. The structure of claim 1, wherein said plate is curved backwardlyfrom its point of attachment to said passagedefining wall on an arc of acircle conforming substantially 4 '1 v to the diameter of said r llur.and wherein -\aitl plali: is crimped to provide said transverse fulcrum,said crimp being of a V-shapc in cross section having a front leg and arelatively longer rear leg.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 601,392 3/1898Bowden 248224 X 2,496,004 1/1950 Gcyer ZZZ-l03 X 2,772,026 11/1956Harrington 222-103 X EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

N. L. STACK, Assislant'Examiner.

1. A DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR A COLLAPSIBLE TUBE, SAID CONTAINERENCLOSING SAID TUBE AND HAVING OPPOSITE WALLS BETWEEN WHICH SAID TUBEFREELY EXTENDS, ONE OF SAID WALLS BEING A BOTTOM WALL AGAINST WHICH SAIDTUBE IS FLATTENED AND THE OTHER SAID WALL BEING A PASSAGE-DEFINING WALLFOR A ROLLER WHICH IS GUIDABLY SUSTAINED FOR MOVEMENT THROUGH SAIDPASSAGE TO FLATTEN SAID TUBE AND IS SUPPLIED WITH MANUALLY OPERABLEMEANS; SAID CONTAINER COMPRISING A THIN FLEXIBLE SPRING-METAL PLATEEXTENDING THROUGH SAID PASSAGE AND UNDER SAID ROLLER FOR MOREEFFECTIVELY TRANSMITTING THE FLATTENING ACTION OF SAID ROLLER TO THETUBE, SAID PLATE HAVING FREE FORWARD END AND A REAR SECURED TO SAIDPASSAGE-